Problem: Simplify the following expression: $ k = 1 + \dfrac{3p - 1}{-4} $
Answer: In order to add expressions, they must have a common denominator. Multiply the first expression by $\dfrac{-4}{-4}$ $ \dfrac{1}{1} \times \dfrac{-4}{-4} = \dfrac{-4}{-4} $ Therefore $ k = \dfrac{-4}{-4} + \dfrac{3p - 1}{-4} $ Now the expressions have the same denominator we can simply add the numerators: $k = \dfrac{-4 + 3p - 1}{-4} $ $k = \dfrac{3p - 5}{-4}$ Simplify the expression by dividing the numerator and denominator by -1: $k = \dfrac{-3p + 5}{4}$